Environmentally sustainable dentistry: energy use within the dental practice

Duane, Brett; Harford, Sara; Steinbach, Inge; Stancliffe, Rachel; Swan, J.S.; Lomax, Richard; Pasdeki-Clewer, Eleni; Ramasubbu, Darshini

doi:10.1038/s41415-019-0044-x

Cited by 23 publications

(14 citation statements)

References 2 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

Section: Planmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The energy consumption of a dental practice contributes to 15.3% of its carbon footprint 8 (Figure 1). The primary energy consumption is attributed to the activity of heating water and building, air conditioning, and using electrical equipment, such as lighting, dental chair, suction, sterilisation devices 8 . However, there are several ways practices can reduce both their costs and carbon emissions associated with energy by choosing sustainable energy, improving energy efficiency, preferring sustainable appliances, using space effectively and generating energy.…”

Section: Planmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

A Novel Approach for Environmental Management of Dental Practice: The “Plan-Do-Check-Act” Model

Rovera¹,

Banducci²

2022

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Background There is increasing awareness of problems associated with global warming but a lack of a systematic approach on how to deliver more environmentally sustainable dental care. A sustainable world aims to ensure that basic needs and quality of life of everyone are met, now and for future generations. The carbon footprint is an indicator of environmental sustainability. Aim The aim is to suggest an environmental management change for the dental practice focusing on the objective of carbon footprint reduction. Environmental management change design The management change is based on the concept of “Plan-Do-Check-Act”, as recommended by the International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO) and described through the environmental aspects of the dental practice. The approach focuses on establishing and implementing environmental objectives, followed by monitoring results and taking actions to improve continually. The environmental aspects considered for the dental practice are activities causing an impact on the carbon footprint: energy use, travel, product purchasing, waste production, emission to air, water use, and contamination of land. Conclusions The “Plan-Do-Check-Act” ISO 14100-2015 model can be effectively integrated into the dental practice setting for its environmental management. A reduction of the carbon footprint of the dental practice is achieved by applying the environmental management change described for each activity.

show abstract

Section: Planmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Planmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Novel Approach for Environmental Management of Dental Practice: The “Plan-Do-Check-Act” Model

Rovera¹,

Banducci²

2022

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…There are many ways dental teams can contribute to a sustainable health system, and these were described in a British Dental Journal series last year (Duane, Croasdale, et al 2019; Duane, Harford, Ramasubbu, et al 2019; Duane, Harford, Steinbach, et al 2019; Duane, Ramasubbu, Harford, Steinbach, Stancliffe, Ballantyne 2019; Duane, Ramasubbu, Harford, Steinbach, Stancliffe, Croasdale, et al 2019; Duane, Steinbach, et al 2019). Some potential internal process changes are reviewed below, aligning these with core emissions, community emissions, and supply chain emissions, as well as providing recommendations for further research.…”

Section: Internal Processesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Energy is an important component of dental emissions. Dental practices should make use of low-energy lighting, insulation, and equipment and consider generating their own energy (Duane, Harford, Steinbach, et al 2019). The benefit to the general dental practitioner is that energy efficiency measures can also help keep costs down.…”

Section: Internal Processesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sustainability in Dentistry: A Multifaceted Approach Needed

et al. 2020

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

This article provides an introduction to environmentally sustainable dentistry and offers perspectives on managing drivers to reduce carbon emissions and make dentistry more environmentally sustainable. A sustainable world must meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. Global commitment to sustainability and demands for a sustainable world are growing. Within dentistry, travel creates the highest carbon emissions and also contributes to human health damage. Internally, there are a number of ways to reduce impact by decreasing travel and energy use, as well as carefully considering the types of items purchased (and how they are disposed of). Larger dental organizations can influence their suppliers and industry by choosing to purchase from sustainable companies with environmentally friendly products. From an external driver perspective policy, guidance and research are essential. Governments need to reevaluate decontamination policy from an environmental perspective. Decontamination documents need revision to consider both planetary and public health. Dental organizations need to support dental teams in this area. Insurance providers and health care purchasers should review policies to influence the sustainability of dental providers. Sustainability education needs to be considered as part of the curriculum of undergraduate and postgraduate students. Guidance could also be developed for the dental industry to produce sustainable products. Research needs to be prioritized. Identifying hot spots or areas of high environmental contributions using other assessments such as life cycle analysis (LCA) would allow dentistry to identify products or practices that have a disproportionate adverse impact on the environment and might be prioritized for change. This should include an analysis of single-use instruments, chemicals, and products. Building research capacity by training students and creating virtual or physical centers for sustainability is essential. Financial support is needed for priority areas of research.

show abstract

“…Readers can follow what we are doing on twitter. 19 There is also a recent series of papers published in the British Dental Journal that might assist readers …”

mentioning

confidence: 99%